Town council says no to new casino

September 11, 2003|BY KIRSTEN FREDRICKSON

NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER

MACKINAW CITY - Even after numerous Mackinaw City community members and several village council members urged fellow council members to wait for more information, the council voted 6-1 Wednesday to deny support for a casino within the village.

Prior to making the decision to send a letter to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians stating that the village would not support a casino, the village council heard about an hour of testimony. Dozens of the hundreds of community members who showed up to Wednesday night's meeting spoke.

Sue Fuss, a Mackinaw City resident, said she had done some research on the Internet about the effects of gaming, reading about everything from gambling addictions to drugs and even prostitution.

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"Is this what we want?" she asked. "I don't think so."

Wawatam Township supervisor Jack Paquet said township officials have agreed a casino would be bad news for the area, adding that a resolution against the casino has already been passed by the township.

"I challenge this board to remember that who you go to bed with at night is who you wake up with in the morning," he said.

But not all of those who attended the public comment session voiced their disgust of a potential casino.

Aaron Franks, a local business owner, urged the council to wait on their decision until all the facts about a possible casino have been collected. Franks wondered how a decision could be made when the council doesn't even know what the tribe has planned.

While Franks had hoped for the issue to be tabled, he also pointed out to the council that he's noticed a majority of his hotel guests often head over the bridge to the casino attraction in St. Ignace.

"If we have a casino here people will be staying here and eating in our restaurants," he said.

Another local business owner, Liz McKenzie, also pointed out to the council that the village has not been the most responsive when it comes to encouraging new business in the village. At the same time, the village has raised concerns about keeping businesses open, she said.

"We keep saying that we want year-round business, but now this isn't the type of year-round we want?," she questioned.

As debate went back and forth about whether a casino in Mackinaw City would be a positive thing, Brad Jones, executive director of the Mackinaw Area Tourist Bureau, reminded everyone that nothing has even been presented yet.

"The tribe has not officially announced their plans for a casino in Mackinaw City," he said. "Thus at this point we have no idea what they want, where they want to build it or what attractions it will bring to Mackinaw City."

Tribal chairman Frank Ettawageshik, who was present at the meeting but did not speak, verified the tribe has not sent any official plans for a casino. The tribe has, however, bought the Kings Inn, which sits within the village limits.

"Last night seemed to be more of a statement against gambling than a particular plan or site … because we don't have one yet. There are people that just don't like casino gambling. And we respect them for that opinion, but it's not how we feel. I also have a great respect for the people who had to sit there last night and do their jobs," he said.

Ettawageshik added that the tribe is still working on putting plans together, but they are working slowly and trying to do one thing at a time. When plans have been finalized, he said the tribe would present them to the necessary governments.

There were some present at the hearing who didn't feel the community would even have a say, if a casino were to be planned.

But village attorney Tom Evashevski said in his research he felt confident the village would have the ultimate say whether the tribe could build a casino in the village limits.

"The village truly does have the ability to say that if they don't want it, it won't come here," he said. "The compact is very clear in stating that any local unit of government does have to give approval."